


It's not about that

by LeDiz



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Final season-era, Kid Flash and Artemis took a break, Kinda unfinished, but it started bad too, it ended badly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-13
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-09-17 05:56:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9308414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeDiz/pseuds/LeDiz
Summary: When they started college, Wally and Artemis decided to take a break from the whole hero thing for a while. Artemis because she needed to see if she could be more, and Wally because... well, there were reasons. Neither of them really expected it to last, but neither really expected it to end the way it did, either.





	

When he and Artemis talked it out, lying in bed with her draped over him, it had seemed easy.

She’d been still for a long time, just watching him with dark eyes. She had her arms folded over his chest, while he combed his fingers through her hair, away from her face. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”

“All I want,” he said softly, “is you.”

“Which is really sweet and all, Wally, but –”

“What do _you_ want?”

She had been the one to bring up quitting the mask. They were moving to college and it would be enough of a risk for Kid Flash to suddenly move towns, let alone for Artemis to come with him. At least some of the kids at school would notice the resemblance between the two heroes and the two dating freshmen.

She didn’t really want to give up the life. She’d been hoping he’d come up with some sensible alternative, like neither of them actually watching over their new town, just working with the Team, or maybe Kid Flash would do the hike back to Central every day, so no one would ever know he left, or…

Instead he’d suggested they both give it up. Play it safe for a while.

She knew things were strained between him and Flash right now. She wasn’t sure why – something had happened on one of their missions and they’d gotten into an argument that hadn’t yet blown over. She knew his parents were on his case lately, too – they’d never really liked Kid Flash in the same way that some parents didn’t like their kids’ motocross hobbies.

When she thought about it, she understood that. She loved the mask and the thrill, but at the same time, she hated that Wally had a mask too. She hated that his job was to dive into the worst situations to play human shield and shuttle. Sure, he had powers and she didn’t, but she was harder than he was. She was a hunter, an almost-killer, and she knew, deep in her heart, that the bow was her destiny. Wally was in it to help people, to do good. He could do that in other ways – he was brilliant and caring and wonderful and…

And if she was honest?

She sighed and unfolded her arms to press a hand to his cheek. “I want you to be safe. I think I’d be happier if you weren’t Kid Flash.”

He started to say something, before guilt flashed over his eyes and he stopped. She smirked despite herself, knowing what he’d been about to say – it was a cheap shot to point out the fact he would never give it up while she was still out there. So cheap that he wouldn’t bring it up to her face. But it was true.

“Okay,” she whispered, and he blinked. “Starting from the day we move into the dorms, we hang up the costumes.”

“Artemis –”

“One last mission with the team, maybe, but then that’s it. Until Flash comes and drags you back—” Guilt shone in his eyes again, and she immediately knew that was at least part of what this was – Wally wanted to know Flash wanted him. “—we give it up. Be ordinary college students. Okay?”

Something she’d learned, these last two years, was that time stretched for speedsters. When Wally stared at her for a second, he was thinking for the equivalent of her ten minutes. But he said nothing, just craned his neck up and met her in a soft, searching kiss.

“Okay.”

 

* * *

 

Nightwing was the easiest to convince, because he’d almost done the same thing a few months ago, when Bruce adopted Tim.

He and Wally just stared at each other for a long few seconds, having a silent conversation, before he sighed and extended his arm. “You’ll be back.”

“Whatever, man,” he said with a grin, and they shook on it.

Nightwing hugged her tightly, and whispered, “Take care of yourself. Take care of him.”

“I will,” she promised.

 

* * *

 

Mary and Rudolf were suspicious but relieved. Oliver frowned and all but interrogated them both on all the reasons why they were leaving. In the end, Artemis played her hand by pointing out she didn’t have anything to prove anymore.

“I’m not my father’s daughter,” she said bluntly. “I’m better than him, and I know that now.”

She leaned into Wally’s side, putting her hand over his heart in a calculated movement that she wasn’t sure Oliver would catch. At least not the way it was really meant. “I have other priorities now.”

Oliver took the argument, but Kaldur caught the hint. He inclined his head, then turned to Wally. “We must all ask ourselves these questions, of who we truly wish to be. These heroics we perform are but one of the many great things we can accomplish. I look forward to seeing what else you can do, my friend.”

“Yeah,” Wally clasped his forearm with a quiet smirk. “Just don’t go hogging all the spotlight when you’re off saving the world. I will come back and kick your butt back down to size.”

“And that goes double for me!” Artemis said, and all three of them laughed.

 

* * *

 

The hard part, as they should have known, was Flash.

Not because he didn’t accept it, or because he tried to change their minds—though, privately, Artemis thought maybe that’s what he’d been intending to do and just failed to read Wally’s mood—but because he looked at the reasons he could see and picked the wrong one to mention.

“Is this about what happened last week?”

Wally stiffened, his lips pressing together slightly, but he shook his head. “No. Artemis and I –”

“C’mon, kid, this isn’t about Artemis and you know it. No offence,” Barry added to her, and she hesitated, then nodded slowly.

Iris coughed. “Artemis, why don’t we…?” she suggested, motioning over her shoulder, and the two women did their best speedster impression to get into the next room. They then pressed up against the wall, because Artemis was a reconnaissance hero and Iris was a reporter. They did these things, even when it didn’t involve the men they cared about more than anything.

It was quiet in the living room for a long few seconds.

“Artemis and I want each other to be safe,” Wally said finally, firmly. “And neither of us will give it up while the other one is still in the mask. It’s a deal.”

“That’s bull,” Barry shot back. “You’re running away.”

Another pause, and Artemis could see the glare on Wally’s face in her mind. “If I was running away, I’d dedicate myself to the team, like Nightwing did.”

“You’re not Nightwing.”

“No, I’m not,” he said coldly. “Nightwing is a detective and a strategist, even when he doesn’t fight. He’s a hero in his own right, not just in someone else’s shadow.”

“There are other ways to change without giving things up completely!”

“Oh, yeah, right, I change my name, get a new costume, and that will totally change how I’m the poor man’s Flash. I know who and what I am, Barry. Nothing is going to change that. That’s not what this is about.”

“Then tell me what it is about!”

“I did! I’m doing this for Artemis!”

“Don’t pin this on her.”

“Don’t you pin this on yourself! Not everything I do is about you!”

“When it comes to you and heroics, it usually is.”

“Oh, you wanna start this? Do you really want to have this conversation?”

“I’m pretty sure you already went there, Wally. I’m just not wallowing in denial.”

“Okay. Okay, fine. Then let me ask you this: why do you care?”

“What?”

“You don’t want me. So why aren’t you happy I'm leaving?”

“That’s ridiculous! I –”

“You never wanted me! You’ve never wanted a sidekick, you never wanted a partner, and even if you did, I’m not fast enough, strong enough, or powerful enough for you. So what do you care if I leave?”

“This _is_ about last week! I _told_ you, Wally –”

“It is _not_ about _last week_!” he yelled, and both Artemis and Iris winced at how angry he sounded. Wally was so good at denial and self-misdirection, but that temper could throw anyone off when it exploded. “But you want to have this discussion, so let’s have it! I don’t want to hear the same old tired excuses, Barry! I want you to admit what you told me seven years ago! You never wanted a sidekick, you’ll never see me as a partner, and the only reason you’re making a big deal about me leaving is because you’re worried about what it’ll do to our relationship! Well, here’s a real Flash Fact: we barely have one anymore!”

Iris closed her eyes, pained, and Artemis’ wince turned into a cringe. The worst thing was, she knew Wally probably wouldn’t regret saying this.

“You’re still acting like I’m twelve years old! Like I can’t make my own decisions—like I shouldn’t, because you know better! Everything we do together ends up being about superheroics! When was the last time we talked science, or comic books, or even about Artemis? I love her! And you’ve never once even asked me how it’s going with her!”

“That’s not true! You were talking about her at dinner last week!”

“With Aunt Iris! You were there, but you barely said a word! You never do, unless it’s to give me some sage advice about how I need to think about what’s important to me, and how hard it can be to balance responsibilities!”

“Wally, I know it might seem like that sometimes, but it’s not that I’m not interested! We’ve just got a lot of stuff going on, and it’s not like you spend all your time around here, anymore. Heck, kid, I thought _you_ didn’t want to spend time with _me_!”

“I was ‘balancing my responsibilities’. And I’m never going to be able to do that, not really. Artemis, college, work, the hero thing, you, Mom and Dad, it’s too much! Something’s gotta give. _That’s_ why I’m giving up the hero thing – it’s got nothing to do with you. You’re just the reason I’m not gonna feel too bad about it.”

The silence echoed for seconds, before Wally sighed loudly. Maybe he started moving away, because when Barry said his name next, it sounded like a call.

“Kid – Wally… wait, I… I never meant…”

“I know you didn’t, Uncle Barry,” he said quietly. “And if you really want me to stay, I’ll try to work something out. But if you’re just saying it for my sake, or because it’s the mentor thing to do…?”

There was another pause, but this one stretched, until the door opened, and Wally stepped into the hall. He gave Artemis a quick smile, then hugged his aunt tightly.

“He does need you, Wally,” she whispered, and pulled back to meet his gaze. “He doesn’t know it, but he does need you.”

He just smiled wryly, and released her to instead take Artemis’ hand. “This isn’t about him.”

Artemis squeezed his hand, but met Iris’ eye, and they both agreed to just let him believe that.

 

* * *

 

Nightwing begged them to come back—or as close to begging as Dick could get—more than once. Aqualad made it a point to tell them how he respected their choice at least once every couple of months. But they never had much of a reason beyond wanting them around.

After a few months, Artemis even started to be kind of glad they quit. The lack of injuries was fantastic. Wally had begun to look healthy in a way she’d never noticed he wasn’t before, and she herself felt far more awake – she didn’t have to rely on adrenaline and caffeine to get her through the day. She found herself able to make smarter choices, too – realised that she’d been doing college mostly because it had been expected of her, and her mother wanted it. To see how another side worked, she dropped down to part-time, upped her work schedule, and found herself happier than ever.

She was even starting to get annoyed when Dick hassled them about coming back. By the time he and Wally got into a fight about it, Artemis didn’t even have to remind herself to look indignant on Wally’s behalf – she was already ticked off on her own.

Probably the hardest part, for her, was simply letting Megan, Conner and Zatanna just… fade into the background. They became peripheral to Dick and Kaldur, too wrapped up in their superhero lives to make time for the mundane. Her mother, like Wally’s parents, still called on holidays and birthdays, but it wasn’t long before she’d left almost all of that old life behind.

She was a little surprised to find the same thing true for Wally. But, as it turned out, most of Wally’s life had been wrapped up in his family. Or, apparently, his aunt and uncle. Iris still called at least once a week, and Wally would chat to her for hours, about the everything and nothing that made up their lives. But Barry…

Barry never called. He never called, or showed up at random hours, or kidnapped Wally for heroics and burgers. It took Wally asking Iris about Jay and Joan’s anniversary for him to find out about a celebration that had been held at the Allen house. Iris told Artemis later, with a very carefully even tone, that Barry was supposed to call Wally about it, but he’d apparently assumed Wally would consider it part of the life he’d given up and wouldn't be interested.

Wally never said anything, or even hinted at it, but Artemis knew better than to think it didn’t hurt. She knew about his fears – about how he’d thought, for years, that he wasn’t good enough, or that Barry didn’t want him around. It had to hurt to see that sort of thing proven true.

It was a small consolation that Iris hated it as much as she did. They knew both of them were just being stubborn – Wally refusing to crawl back and Barry insisting that he was giving Wally time to sort himself out. They agreed men were stupid, and natural-born heroes were worse, but…

But that didn’t make it any easier.

Artemis couldn’t imagine Wally going back to Barry anymore.

She knew they would probably both go back to heroics, one day. She loved the adrenaline and he lived to help others, and neither of them were really getting their fix living a normal life. But because Barry didn’t ask, she knew… Wally had already made his choice. When he went back, she could already tell, it would be in the same way Dick became Nightwing. Acknowledge the mentor but be his own hero.

“You could be Apollo, to match my Artemis,” she said lightly, tossing him an apple as she restocked the fridge.

“That,” He paused to bite into it, then spoke around the mouthful, “is disgusting. You know they were siblings. I say Hermes.”

“You’re a messenger boy now?”

“Well, I’m not much of one for sneaker sponsorship with Nike.”

She laughed, and pretended not to notice his thoughtful glance at the ceiling.

But she knew they would need to get their lives in order before he could find a new costume – they need to finish college and settle down.

Then they could screw it up with heroes and world-saving again.

 

* * *

 

When Kaldur and Dick came to them with The Plan, it was obvious that they were at least subconsciously hoping to be shot down. It was insane and wrong, on multiple levels, and they knew it.

Wally, ever dependable in his own unpredictable way, delivered. He pointed out the craziness, the problems, all the moral issues and the worst possible consequences. “And worst of all, you’re not just tricking the bad guys! You’re manipulating the whole world! Your team! Your _families_!”

“But that might be why it could work,” Artemis said softly, looking up at Kaldur. “Family always expects you to come back to them.”

Wally stared at her for a second, then huffed out a breath and glared at his coffee. “Yeah. And if you did pull it off, it’d only be like, the biggest success the team’s ever had.”

Dick and Kaldur exchanged glances. “You… don’t think it’s a bad idea?”

“I think it’s a terrible idea!” he snapped, and Artemis nodded.

“Like Wally said, you’re putting a whole lot of stuff on the line that you might not be able to get back,” she said. “Not least of all yourself.”

“It needs to be done,” Kaldur said firmly. “Black Manta needs to be taken care of.”

“So why are you telling us?” asked Wally. “If you do this, the less people that know, the better.”

“Because we can’t do it alone, neither of us,” Dick said softly. “If something goes wrong, we need people we can trust to help us out. And even if you’re not on the team right now, the truth is, there’s no one either of us trust more than the two of you.”

They both flinched, then looked at each other blankly, before going back to the boys. They returned the gaze without a word, and Dick even reached up to take off his glasses and meet Artemis’ eyes.

“Superheroes or not. We need you.”

And that, in hindsight, was really the beginning of the end.

 

* * *

 

When they called her in, Wally was furious.

“We gave up this life! No more secrets, no more lies! And this is the biggest, stupidest, most dangerous plan ever! I can’t let you risk this! I won’t!”

She let him rant it out, until he was sitting on the bed, holding her where she stood against him. She brushed his hair through her fingers and promised him she’d come back. “You knew it wasn’t forever, Wally. No matter what we said, you knew this was only temporary.”

“I don’t want to lose you,” he whispered.

“I promise you won’t. I promise I’ll come back. I’ll always come back.”

She made that promise. In hindsight, she should have made him make it too.

**Author's Note:**

> The 48 are a collection of unfinished and/or pointless one-shots saved to my hard drive, now posted to Ao3 for people's interest or in case they want to adopt them.
> 
> I forgot I had anything for the 48 in the DC universes aside from The Tomorrow Knight. And here I thought the 48 was done... WHOOPS.
> 
> Anyway - I make no secret of my love for Wally West in any of his animated incarnations. I stopped watching Young Justice when they brought in the new cast, but I was still bitter when I heard about how his story went. I wonder what the Netflix series will do for him; especially now that DC as a whole is recognising his importance to the wider universe. It might be interesting.


End file.
